Seventeen-year-old Ozzy has a super-hot girlfriend who’s ready to take their relationship to the next level. Tonight. At the lake.

But a missing condom scuttles his plans for seduction. Furious, Ozzy takes his girlfriend home and drives off -- into the path of an oncoming truck. He wakes up in the hospital with both legs amputated above the knees.

When his girlfriend runs out of his hospital room gagging after a single look at him, Ozzy knows he’s a hideous freak. He becomes convinced he’s blown any chance of finding love, a girlfriend or ever having sex.

Determined to prove he can still be a man, Ozzy throws himself into dumping the burden of his virginity, but finds there’s a limited number of people willing to touch legless dudes in wheelchairs. His obsession takes him into the seedy underworld of brothels and escort services where he discovers the difference between sex and intimacy, and that sometimes the price you pay for getting what you want is much higher than a sex worker’s fee.

Stumped by Kate Larkindale

For seventeen-year-old Ozzy, it was supposed to be the night he finally lost his virginity, but thanks to Fate and his older brother, that condom he was counting on was not there. Frustrated and distracted, he never noticed the truck racing toward him on the road. What he wakes up to in the hospital is both heartbreaking and life changing. Ozzy has lost both legs from above the knees and his girlfriend’s reaction tells him he will die a freak, a virgin freak. Not only will Ozzy have to cope with his new body, emotionally, physically and mentally, he will become obsessed with having sex, no matter what.

STUMPED by Kate Larkindale should be a sad and gut-wrenching tale of loss, and it is, but it is also a comical look at one teen’s quest to lose his virginity that will teach him more about himself and life than any therapy or counselling session could. Follow Ozzy to the red light district, where illegal sex can’t be bought at any price for a minor, legs or not to the home of a special teen who has openly declared she wants him, because she, too is a virgin.

Through it all, Ozzy will have moments of despair for his condition, moments of self-doubt, stunning revelations about life and those he once called friends. Ozzy will learn what he is made of, who are his allies and the kind of person he wants to be, aside from definitely NOT wanting to remain a virgin!

Heartwarming, filled with humor of all kinds, Ozzy is that character you cannot help but root for from start to finish, just as many of the lesser characters are people you would love to take down a peg or shame in public.

Kate Larkindale has done a masterful job of creating a tale that is riveting from start to finish without being maudlin, in spite of the Ozzy’s loss. A beautiful coming of age story about a flawed boy who will face more in his short life than most of us could ever comprehend having to deal with and Ms. Larkindale still made us smile at, with and for Ozzy.